Train travel is fabulous in Switzerland. If you buy a Swiss Travel Pass, you can use the trains as often as you want for one initial price. Although try not to do what we did: We booked our flights for a total of 10 days in the country before realizing that the Swiss Passes only come in certain increments, and there wasn’t one for 10 days. Our choices were 3, 4, 8, or 15 days. It worked out for us, but I could see it being a hassle with something like 13 days. We bought the 8-day passes, and here is the itinerary we followed.

At a Glance:

• Day 1 Zurich
• Day 2-3 Interlaken
• Day 4 Bern
• Day 5 Gruyeres
• Day 6 Zermatt
• Day 7-8 Bellinzona
• Day 9-10 Zurich

Please note that on the two Sundays we were in the country, many places we are used to being open in the States on weekends (cafes, stores, etc.) were in fact closed, even in the cities and tourist areas. Plan accordingly.

Day 1 – Zurich

If, like us, your Swiss Pass doesn’t start on the day you arrive, then buy a train ticket to Zurich HB (Hauptbanhof) from the SBB ticket booths in the Arrivals hall at the airport. It is a quick ride to the Zurich main station, which is huge. Be careful what door you come out of so you don’t think you’re facing a different direction than you really are (not that I know from experience or anything…..).

Find your hotel (we stayed at Hotel du Theatre, but we also considered Motel One Zurich, Hotel Florhof, Dakini’s B&B, Hotel Townhouse, and Widder Hotel), and then get your butt moving to stave off that jet lag! Hopefully you will have better weather than we did – it rained the whole day for us.

Obviously there is plenty to do in a city the size of Zurich, and you will find a large variety of suggestions with the slightest Google search, so I will leave this next part short. I recommend a walk through the Niederdorf area of the old town:

I also suggest you go for a meal at Hiltl, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in town. This place scores highly for vegetarians and omnivores alike!! Do itttt!

Day 2 – Interlaken and the Schilthorn

Back at Zurich Hauptbanhof with your Swiss Pass in hand, you will have your first big test of navigating Swiss train travel. Check the signage for the stop you need – in this case Thun – and locate the corresponding platform. Most trains come hourly, so if you just missed one, that’s fine – another will be along later.

Make sure to board a car in the class you bought you Swiss Pass for (2nd class is completely adequate), and grab any open seat. In Thun, you will need to switch trains for Interlaken.

There are two train stations in Interlaken – West and Ost – know which one you need in advance (usually West, unless you booked a hotel further away).

After settling in to your hotel (we liked Hotel Rossli), if the weather looks good, get thee to the Schilthorn! You will need to hop back on the public transportation again, towards Lauterbrunnen and end in Stechelberg, where you will find the cable car for the Schilthorn (covered by Swiss Pass).

The Schilthorn is amazing!

There is a rotating restaurant at the top, if you feel so inclined.

By the time you get back to Interlaken, it will likely be dinner time. We enjoyed Restaurant Stadthaus (technically in Unterseen, but it was walking distance for us). Have yourself some rosti!

Day 3 – Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, Thun

If the weather for day 2 is not cooperative for seeing the Schilthorn, then try switching these two plans. Whatever day has worse weather will be a good wandering day.

If you are staying in Interlaken, then you will be between Lauterbrunnen and Thun by train, so it doesn’t really matter what order you go in. They all deserve a visit.

Interlaken:

Lauterbrunnen:

Thun:

The castle, Schloss Thun, is definitely worth a visit (check open times during the off season), and the views from the top are spectacular.

Day 4 – Bern

Hop back on the train in the way you came, but heading towards Bern, Switzerland’s capital. It’s yet another gorgeous city to wander. We stayed at Hotel National.

I recommend having a leisurely walk east from the train station. The peninsula is not very large, so you shouldn’t get lost. At the eastern side are two bridges.

At the end of the bigger one is a touristy restaurant, Altes Tramdepot, and I had my second-favorite Swiss meal there, so I recommend it!

Walk up the trail to the nearby Rosengarten for that famous Bern view.

You can probably easily wander and shop the rest of the afternoon away in the adorable streets.

If you’re feeling fancy at dinnertime, try out the Kornhauskeller restaurant and tell me if it is worth the hype!

Day 5 – Murten and Gruyères

Murten is not too far from Bern and is worth a look if you like quaint and medieval places. It’s quite small, so won’t take you too long to explore, although the process of getting there isn’t the fastest if the timing is off and you have to wait for the trains. Ask the hotel at check-out if they will hold your bags for you, or leave them in a locker in Bern, as you will need to come back that way no matter what.

We spent about an hour in Murten and got to see the whole town.

Back in Bern, hop on a train to Bulle and enjoy your first language switch in the country. Once in Bulle, the train to Gruyeres is really short! If the next train isn’t expected for a while (we waited so long), then you might just want to do a ride share the rest of the way or something. Google predicts it’s only an 8-minute drive between them.

If you do the train, it will deposit you in the valley below. You can either take the bus or walk up to Gruyeres. It’s not a terrible walk, but it is all uphill, and if you have bags, you might wish you’d done the bus (or that ride share idea).

Once at the top of the hill, you will see that this area is really tiny and geared to tourists. It’s absolutely adorable, but the hotels and restaurants are all on the higher end and there is not much else. Be warned! We stayed at Hotel de Ville.

But if you do decide to come, don’t miss Le Chateau de Gruyeres at the very top of the hill! It’s beautiful!

Day 6 – Montreux and Zermatt

Head out early and change trains in Montbovon, then head to Montreux, which is a sort of vacation town. If you don’t want to stay too long, just put your bags in a locker and check out Montreux’s fabulous castle, the Chateau de Chillon. It’s a bit of a pain to get to, but worth it. You can walk (somewhat far, though) or take a train to the Veytaux stop (only one per hour).

Say au revoir to the French-speaking part of Switzerland and it’s back on the train (transferring in Visp) to Zermatt.

This is where the Matterhorn lives! This city has become a huge tourism centre because of this single peak!

Viewing the Matterhorn is VERY dependent on good weather. You could take the Gornergratbahn up the mountains for a closer look on the afternoon you get in, if you’re there early enough (we didn’t get there in time) or wait until the following morning. This one is NOT covered by the Swiss Pass, and if the visibility is bad, it is absolutely not worth the journey up.

For us, it got worse and worse the higher we went.

But besides going up in the mountains, the old parts of Zermatt are fascinating to see as well.

We recommend having dinner at Restaurant du Pont. Try the Kaseschnitte or the rosti!

Day 7 – Zermatt and Bellinzona

If seeing the Matterhorn didn’t work out the day before, try it again today. Otherwise, it’s a long day of train rides ahead of you, so start as early as you can and bring food! Hopefully you will enjoy having a bit of downtime after lots of walking.

There are a few routes to take from Zermatt to Bellinzona, but none are direct. We went Zermatt – Visp – Andermatt – Goschenen – Bellinzona, and got there in the evening, feeling very hungry.

Many of the restaurants in the area around the train station have similar menus, so just pick one that looks good. We ate at our hotel, Croce Federale, the night we got in, and it was great! The Italian influence is extremely strong here! Excellent pasta!

Day 8 – Bellinzona and Lugano

The coffee at our hotel was also the best of this trip. Those Swiss-Italians know where it’s at!

Spend the morning exploring Bellinzona and her THREE castles by local bus!

The highest is Sasso Corbaro.

Halfway down the hills, you will find Montebello.

The one in the middle of Bellinzona in the valley is Castlegrande.

The afternoon can be spent in Lugano, a popular summer vacation spot. It was pretty dreary the November day that we were there, though.

Back in Bellinzona, if you had pasta the night before, now it’s time for pizza!

Buon Appetito!

Day 9 and 10 – Zurich

If it’s Saturday, check out Bellinzona’s street market.

Otherwise it’s time to get back to Zurich if you only bought an 8-day Swiss Pass. If you take the express train through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, it’ll only take about two hours. Your other option could be to take a longer train that stops in Lucerne on the way.

Back in Zurich, you have more time to enjoy the big city and do whatever you might have missed your first day. Check to see if any of the museums you want to go to can be done on the Swiss Pass before it expires. Then shop, eat, and wander to your heart’s content!

Happy Travels!